Content warning : this post contains a detailed description of a failed cervical dislocation that required several attempts before death. It was painful to write for me, and could likely be difficult to read.
I would really appreciate feedback from people with more experience on what I did wrong, to know if I can ever attempt it again. (Please be kind or factual. I know I caused extreme useless pain and I already feel terrible and guilty about it, which doesn't change what happened.)
Tuesday 21, I decided to end Brune's life using cervical dislocation. It took several attempts and many long minutes when it should normally take 40 seconds. It was my first time doing this and I followed the explanation on this very clear blog post (thanks to @Shadrach for the link).
Brune was semi-conscious and lying down outside on the floor. I stretched her neck and applied quite a lot of strength to tilt her head backwards. I felt a snap and thought it was done. But although her neck went limp, there was no flapping, and after maybe a minute she was clearly still alive , breathing, with her eyes opened and closing when flies came by.
I tried again. The second attempt I felt I didn't break or snap anything because her neck felt completely loose, very elastic like rubber and like it would just bend but never break. This time her eyes closed and there was flapping so I thought she would die, but after again more than thirty seconds, she was still breathing, though there was no reflex of chasing flies away anymore. I believe and hope she was unconscious by then.
At this point I hesitated to go get a knife and lost again some precious time. I decided against it and attempted a third time stretching the neck again as far as possible, which was very much as it now felt totally loose, and once again tilting the head backward as violently as I could. There was no snap, but this time her wings flapped and she did die after what seemed like far more than forty seconds.
The article I linked mentions three possible causes of failure : not stretching the neck enough, attempting to dislocate too low below the head, and breaking bones.
I'm really not sure what I did wrong. It felt like I stretched her neck the first time and I did feel something snap, but that didn't cause instant death. Is it possible I did not apply enough strength, or does it seem most likely I did not stretch her neck far enough? I'm sure I did not hesitate, and I tried to be quick.
And I also wonder if attempting to do it again was the right thing to do, as it just felt impossible to snap a then very elastic neck. Should I have kept a knife close by in case of trouble ?
I'm not sure I should ever try this method again, if I am again led to euthanize a chicken. My other option would be decapitation. For people who have experience with both, would you have any advice ?
Thank you so much for your help on this difficult subject.
Brune last summer.
I would really appreciate feedback from people with more experience on what I did wrong, to know if I can ever attempt it again. (Please be kind or factual. I know I caused extreme useless pain and I already feel terrible and guilty about it, which doesn't change what happened.)
Tuesday 21, I decided to end Brune's life using cervical dislocation. It took several attempts and many long minutes when it should normally take 40 seconds. It was my first time doing this and I followed the explanation on this very clear blog post (thanks to @Shadrach for the link).
Brune was semi-conscious and lying down outside on the floor. I stretched her neck and applied quite a lot of strength to tilt her head backwards. I felt a snap and thought it was done. But although her neck went limp, there was no flapping, and after maybe a minute she was clearly still alive , breathing, with her eyes opened and closing when flies came by.
I tried again. The second attempt I felt I didn't break or snap anything because her neck felt completely loose, very elastic like rubber and like it would just bend but never break. This time her eyes closed and there was flapping so I thought she would die, but after again more than thirty seconds, she was still breathing, though there was no reflex of chasing flies away anymore. I believe and hope she was unconscious by then.
At this point I hesitated to go get a knife and lost again some precious time. I decided against it and attempted a third time stretching the neck again as far as possible, which was very much as it now felt totally loose, and once again tilting the head backward as violently as I could. There was no snap, but this time her wings flapped and she did die after what seemed like far more than forty seconds.
The article I linked mentions three possible causes of failure : not stretching the neck enough, attempting to dislocate too low below the head, and breaking bones.
I'm really not sure what I did wrong. It felt like I stretched her neck the first time and I did feel something snap, but that didn't cause instant death. Is it possible I did not apply enough strength, or does it seem most likely I did not stretch her neck far enough? I'm sure I did not hesitate, and I tried to be quick.
And I also wonder if attempting to do it again was the right thing to do, as it just felt impossible to snap a then very elastic neck. Should I have kept a knife close by in case of trouble ?
I'm not sure I should ever try this method again, if I am again led to euthanize a chicken. My other option would be decapitation. For people who have experience with both, would you have any advice ?
Thank you so much for your help on this difficult subject.
Brune last summer.